APRIL IS MOVE MORE MONTH
April is Move More Month, and here at the Y, we want to celebrate moving more with you! We talked to Fred Shelby, YMCA Director of Healthy Living, about what Move More Month means to him, and how you can make a difference in your own life during Move More Month.
According to Fred, it is important to ALL people to stay active and move more because regular exercise and physical activity promote strong muscles and bones. It improves respiratory, cardiovascular health, and overall health. Staying active can also help you maintain a healthy weight, reduce your risk for type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and reduce your risk for some cancers.
For some people staying active may be more difficult due to a busy lifestyle or just not knowing where to start. To start, you can make some small changes in your daily routine to increase physical activity. Some of these changes may include taking the stairs instead of the elevator, parking in the furthest parking place, walking the length of your house during commercial breaks, and walk/exercise as a family.
Alongside these small, everyday changes, you can participate in YMCA exercise classes. We offer a large variety of group exercise classes, ranging from all different fitness level to help anyone increase their level of physical activity. We have classes for kids, teen, adults, and seniors. We offer about 200 group exercise classes per week. We also have traditional wellness centers with the latest equipment to choose from. You can find a list of classes and times on our website ymcamontgomery.org.
Once you start moving more, you will see the differences in your everyday life. Physical activity and exercise can have immediate and long-term health benefits. Most importantly, regular activity can improve your quality of life. A minimum of 30 minutes a day can allow you to enjoy these benefits.
Outside of your typical running to walking, there are many ways to stay active such as hiking, roller blading, dancing, bike riding, playing any recreational sport, etc. The best thing to do is to find something you enjoy doing! For Fred, his favorite ways to reach his step goal or stay active is to jump rope, take group exercise classes at the Y, play basketball, or run around after his 4-year-old.
We have a great way for you to get moving this month. Join our SPRING INTO SUMMER FITNESS program!!! This is a 6-week program to help you reach your spring fitness goals. Spring into fitness will be a 6-week program that will begin April 18th and end May 30th. The goal of this challenge is to complete 3 workouts per week for 6 weeks. To track your workouts, you will use the YMCA App. You must first join the “Spring Into Fitness” challenge. Once you join the challenge you can log your activity minutes in a few different options. The first option is to use a fitness tracker. Your fitness tracker can log your workout if you engage into a work mode. The next option uses the Xcapture feature. Using Xcapture you go to record a workout and select which cardio equipment you are using to take a picture of the screen. Once you have “Xcaptured” the display your workout will count towards the challenge. If you have logged at least 18 workouts by May 30th, you will receive a YMCA towel.
Tell us your favorite ways to get yourself moving! Email us at info@ymcamontgomery.org so we can share with other members!
